Filmmaker; Photographer; Lesbian activist. Papers document Biren's professional and personal life. Major topics include photography, film, lesbianism, Judaism, feminism, lesbian and gay rights, political movements, and anti-nuclear movements. Biren was an avid collector of lesbian and social justice materials, and the Papers are rich in images, clippings, and other materials collected during events such as the 1993 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Justice. Materials related to Biren's filmmaking include extensive raw footage, research materials, and transcripts of interviews, conference panels, and events. Notable correspondents include Audre Lorde, Alison Bechdel, Tee Corrine, Barbara Smith, and John D'Emilio.
[NOTE: The contents list for this collection is not online yet but will be soon. Check back again in a few weeks, or contact the Sophia Smith Collection if you would like a copy sent to you.]

Terms of Access and Use:

Restrictions on access:

The papers are open to research according to the regulations of the Sophia Smith Collection with the following caveats:

Access to audiovisual materials may first require production of research copies.

Portions of this collection have not been fully processed and therefore some portions may be difficult to use.

Restrictions on use:

TJoan Biren retains copyright to her published and unpublished works. Copyright to works by others may be owned by them, their heirs or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights for permission to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use." Permission must also be obtained from the Sophia Smith Collection as owners of the physical property.

Sophia Smith CollectionSmith CollegeNorthampton, MA

Biographical Note

Joan E. Biren (b.1944) grew up in the Washington, D.C. area, graduated from Mount Holyoke
College in 1966, and pursued graduate training in political science at Oxford University and
communications at American University. Biren joined the women's liberation movement in Washington
D.C. in 1969. Coming to feminism with her New Left political science background, Biren was
particularly involved in the formation of feminist theory. Biren and others (including Rita Mae
Brown and Charlotte Bunch) formed a lesbian-separatist collective, the Furies, in 1971. Though the
collective was short-lived, it had, through its publications, a significant impact on the
strategies of the women's movement. Biren taught herself photography because "I needed to see
images of lesbians." She is best known for her photographic portraits, some of the earliest
documents of late 20th-century lesbian life. Realizing the need for affirming images and self-
expression outside of traditional patriarchal language, her work has appeared in off our backs, The
Washington Blade, Gay Community News, and on countless LP album and book covers. Biren published
two ground-breaking collections of her photography: "Eye to Eye: Portraits of Lesbians" (1979) and
"Making A Way: Lesbians Out Front" (1987). In the 1990s, Beginning in 1979 Biren toured the country
presenting her slide show "Lesbian Images in Photography, 1850 to the present" to women's groups.
Other shows followed and gradually Biren moved from still photography to filmmaking. She documented
the 1987 and 1993 gay and lesbian marches on Washington in For Love and For Life and A Simple
Matter of Justice and in 2003, an award-winning film on lesbian pioneers Del Martin and Phyllis
Lyon, "No Secret Anymore: The Times of Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon."

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Joan E. Biren Papers document her professional and personal life. They include
correspondence, notes, photographs, press releases, reports, fliers and publicity materials,
journal and newspaper articles, newsletters, audiovisual materials, transcripts of interviews, and
memorabilia. The bulk of the papers date from 1975 to 2003. Major topics found throughout the
papers include photography, film, lesbianism, Judaism, feminism, lesbian and gay rights, political
movements, and anti-nuclear movements. Biren was an avid collector of lesbian and social justice
materials, and the Papers are rich in images, clippings, and other materials collected during
events such as the 1993 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Justice.
Materials related to Biren's filmmaking include extensive raw footage, research materials, and
transcripts of interviews, conference panels, and events. Notable correspondents include Audre
Lorde, Alison Bechdel, Tee Corrine, Barbara Smith, and John D'Emilio.

[NOTE: The contents list for this collection is not online yet but will be soon. Check back again in a few weeks, or contact the Sophia Smith Collection if you would like a copy sent to you.]

Information on Use

Terms of Access and Use

Restrictions on access:

The papers are open to research according to the regulations of the Sophia Smith Collection with the following caveats:

Access to audiovisual materials may first require production of research copies.

Portions of this collection have not been fully processed and therefore some portions may be difficult to use.

Restrictions on use:

TJoan Biren retains copyright to her published and unpublished works. Copyright to works by others may be owned by them, their heirs or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights for permission to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use." Permission must also be obtained from the Sophia Smith Collection as owners of the physical property.

Preferred Citation

Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:

The following terms represent persons, organizations, and topics documented in this collection. Use these headings to search for additional materials on this web site, in the Five College Library Catalog, or in other library catalogs and databases.

Subjects

Adam, Margie

Antinuclear movement -- United States -- History -- Sources

Artists -- United States -- Biography -- Sources

Biren, Joan E.

Breast Cancer -- Lesbians

Christian, Meg

Civil rights movements -- United States -- History -- 20th century -- Sources

Collectivism -- United States

Deming, Barbara, 1917

Demonstrations -- United States -- Photographs

Documentary films -- United States -- Production and direction

Female friendship -- United States -- History

Feminism -- History --Sources

Feminism -- Periodicals

Feminism -- Religious aspects -- Judaism

Feminism and art -- History -- Sources

Feminist spirituality -- United States -- History -- Sources

Feminists -- United States -- Biography -- Sources

Gay college students -- United States -- History

Gay liberation movement -- History -- 20th century -- Sources

Gay rights -- History -- Sources

Gays -- Periodicals

Gays in motion pictures

Gender identity -- United States

Goddess religion -- History -- 20th century -- Sources

Hammer, Barbara

Helaine Victoria Press -- History -- Sources

Hispanic American women -- Biography -- Sources

Homophobia in sports -- History -- 20th century -- Sources

Indian women -- Biography -- Sources

International Women's Day -- History

Jackson, James E., 1914-

Jewish lesbians -- Biography -- Sources

Jewish women -- United States -- Biography -- Sources

Lesbian activists -- United States -- Biography -- Sources

Lesbian artists -- United States -- Biography -- Sources

Lesbian communities -- United States -- History

Lesbian feminism--History--Sources

Lesbian physicians

Lesbianism -- Periodicals

Lesbianism -- Religious aspects

Lesbianism -- United States -- History

Lesbians -- Periodicals

Lesbians -- Photographs

Lesbians -- United States -- Biography -- Sources

Lesbians in motion pictures

National Abortion Rights Action League -- History

National Endowment for the Arts -- History -- Sources

National Organization for Women -- History

National Women's Health Network (U.S.)

Near, Holly

Nuclear disarmament -- History -- Sources

Olivia Records

Peace movements -- History -- 20th century -- Sources

Peace movements -- United States -- History -- Sources

Photography of women -- History -- Sources

Pornography -- Social aspects -- United States -- History -- 20th century -- Sources

Pratt, Minnie Bruce

Voices of Feminism Oral History Project

Women -- Periodicals

Women -- Photographs

Women -- Religious life -- United States -- History

Women and peace -- History -- 20th century -- Sources

Women and religion -- History -- 20th century -- Sources

Women artists -- United States -- Biography -- Sources

Women in mass media -- United States -- History -- 20th century -- Sources